A stored value card is a known type of instrument that may be used for purchasing goods or services via electronic payment systems, or for transporting cash value from one location to another. Stored value cards may be distinguished from credit cards and debit cards. Unlike credit or debit cards, for example, a stored value card may locally store a dollar amount or other representation of current value on the card itself. Each time a portion of the value is redeemed, the stored value may be decremented by the amount of redemption. In some stored value card implementations, the stored value card may be disposable—designed to be discarded once the stored value has been exhausted. In other applications, the stored value card may be reloadable. Telephone calling cards, bus fare cards, commuter train fare cards, meal cards and gift cards are all examples of applications that may be implemented as stored value platforms.
In modern society, persons frequently travel from one country to another for business or personal reasons. Moreover, persons often desire to use or send cash equivalents across national borders. Stored value cards that are purchased, or have value loaded, in one country may be physically compatible with card readers in another country. This may be possible, for example, where a single merchant or service provider such as the VISA™ network has implemented a substantially similar system in more than one country. Such a possibility may also be facilitated by industry efforts aimed at standardizing the stored value card-to-reader interfaces. Unfortunately, even where such compatibility exists between the stored value cards and hardware readers, cross-border use may not be possible where the currencies of the two countries are not the same. For example, a card that is loaded with U.S. dollars may not be redeemable for goods, services, or cash where the local currency is in Mexican pesos or other denominations.
Wire services and other types of electronic funds transfer, money orders, bank drafts, and other mechanisms or instruments are also currently used to transport cash or cash equivalents, from one country to another. Unfortunately for the sender and recipient, these alternatives are generally available only at a relatively high transaction cost, and often only at a relatively small number of fixed locations.
These and other drawbacks exist.